Perception of Male Nursing Students in a BSN Program

This presentation will focus on the perceptions of male nursing students in a traditional BSN program in the Southeast of the United States. The purpose of using focus groups is based on the concept that group interactions may yield responses and build insights that might not occur during one-on-one interviews (Slade, Molloy, & Keating, 2009). The research question of "What are the perceptions of male nursing student currently enrolled in a traditional baccalaureate nursing program?" was answered. The methods for answering the research questions were completed by a qualitative study by using focus groups comprised male traditional BSN student through a Grounded Theory study design. The aim of this inquiry is to gain understanding about the factors that drew the men to the program, the challenges that have faced, and the support they need to complete the program, then develop a theory about the participants' reflection of their experiences. Male nursing students were audio recorded in four focus group sessions. The focus group sessions were divided into various levels within the BSN curriculum. Junior level one, junior level two, senior level one, and senior level two were interview in four different focus groups. Human subjects protection was obtained from the university IRB. All of the participants gave verbal consent to be interviewed and audio recorded. The same set of questions were asked to all of the focus groups. The participants answered all of the questions but some offered other information that was stimulate from the original questions. The male students were diverse by age and ethnicity. The audio was transcribed verbatim by the researcher. The transcripts were checked by the audio recording for accuracy. Themes were derived from the focus groups transcripts. Specific examples will be described from the focus groups. The researcher will describe and compare data from similar studies from the review of literature. Themes will be described as well as examples will be presented. Lessons learned will be discussed. Recommendations for future research will be discussed.